Wherever there are athletics, there are spectators. Wherever there are spectators, there are cheerleaders, and wherever there are cheerleaders, there are pompons. Pompons help turn a stadium into a sea of team colors, and it is aesthetically pleasing to see colors in flowing motion. The colors and the agitated movement of the streamers attract the attention of spectators, which is why pompons are standard issue equipment for cheerleaders. Pompons are tools to cheerleaders; they use them to gesture, to rouse attention, to make noise, as dance props, etc. Accordingly, wherever one sees a cheerleader, one can expect to see pompons nearby.
Despite their common association with cheerleaders and spectators at sporting events, pompons are now showing up in the hands of attendees at numerous events outside the sports arenas; political rallies, corporate events, academic events, parades, theme parks, and circuses, to name a few. In each of these uses, pompons enhance the experience by providing enhanced visual stimulation to users and non-users alike, while making the users of the pompons feel like they are part of the event rather than mere spectators.
Current pompons, or shakers, all have a common design. There is a handle, strap, or other means for the user to hold the pompon during use, and a plurality of streamers attached to, and extending from, the handle. Handles may take the form of cylindrical rods, as is the case of most pompons used by spectators, may be substantially D-shaped, as is the case of most common cheerleader pompons, or may simply be flexible straps made of cord, rope, elastic material, or the like. The streamers are typically manufactured of thin strips of plastic or paper material, which are sufficiently flexible to allow the streamers to take a spherical shape, akin to a ball of flowing strips, when the pompons are shaken. The pompon streamers are typically of a single color to match the colors of the team for whom they are used, although a wide variety of streamers, from multicolored streamers to shiny metallic strips, have also been used.
Traditional pompons have been generally effective at generating attention. However, there have been a number of purported improvements thereto. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,079,046, entitled “Wrist Pompon Structure”, discloses a pompon device that includes an elastomeric tubular sleeve that fits around the user's wrist and a plurality of flexible streamers extending from the front of the sleeve to form a pompon around the users hand. Some embodiments of this device include a squeeze bulb mounted to the sleeve to allow the user to spray glitter particles, formed of reflective material, from the inside of the streamers for an enhanced visual display. This improved pompon is effective at drawing the attention of those near the glitter. However, the small size of the glitter prevents it from being noticed by those who are more than a few feet from the cheerleader. Further, this device creates unwanted litter and must be refilled before each use. Finally, the flying glitter can also be hazardous to the eyes of surrounding spectators. For these reasons, such devices have not found widespread appeal.
Another purported improvement is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,079,046, entitled “Pompon”. This patent discloses a traditionally styled pompon made up of flexible streamers formed of transparent plastic with a fluorescent dye. When the plastic is cut to form the streamers, the cut edges are said to provide a glowing effect in the presence of ambient light, enhancing the visual effect of the pompon. Unfortunately, the use of such fluorescent dyes does not significantly enhance the visibility of the pompons at long distances. In addition, such pompons rely upon the reflection of ambient light to produce their effect and are ineffective in low light conditions, such as when the lights are dimmed during player introductions, during evening pep rallies, parades, and the like. Finally, the design of these pompons precludes the use of streamers in “team” colors, as is typically required. Accordingly, these devices have also not found widespread appeal.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved pompon that will be effective at generating attention of people who are a great distance from the user of the pompon, that does not produce litter, that does not need to be refurbished after each use, that does not create a safety hazard, that has enhanced visibility even in low light conditions, and that includes streamers that are in “team” colors.